A Shadow
by vagueyetmenacing
Summary: Okay, you like to think that what you do isn't that creepy. Yeah, you kind of stare at her while at school. Yeah, you kind of do watch her walking around the streets at night while you're on top of buildings. While you're wearing a tactical balaclava. And have a bo on your back. And military boots. And knifes on a holster around your thigh.Just a bonus on the whole vigilante thing.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, you like to think that what you do isn't that creepy. I mean it could be worse, right? Yeah, you kind of stare at her while at school. Yeah, you kind of do watch her walking around the streets at night while you're on top of buildings. While you're wearing a tactical balaclava. And have a bo on your back. And military boots. And knifes on a holster around your thigh. It's kind of a bonus in the whole vigilante thing.

Okay, it is creepy as fuck. But you can't really help it when she is so beautiful, nice, kind and just... Jesus. You really have it bad.

You're sitting in the back of the classroom, not really paying any attention to the teacher. You're on your last year of school, and even though you just began, you already know everything. Studying so much for so many years did pay off, you think. It basically means you can watch Brittany while she's trying to listen to the teacher, her tongue poking out while she tries to focus. You seem to know a lot of small details about her, which is really strange since you only exchanged a few words. It's not that she's mean to you or anything like that, you're just too shy to start a conversation.

The bell rings and you get up, fixing your shirts, grabbing your books and leaving the classroom, pushing everyone aside. You are really hungry, and the fact that people find you intimidating for some reason really helps when it comes to walking in the hallways.

After you get your food, you sit down with your friends: Quinn, Rachel and Kurt.

"Got ya pretty bad, huh?" Quinn mumbles. You look up, thinking it over a bit before you remember yesterday. And the slight black eye you've got.

"Oh…Yeah". You shrug. All of them know about your… Secret life. You had to tell them after you started missing school and sometime showing up with bruises. At first, it was worse. You would go days without being able to go to school, for you were so reckless with your fighting. You learned, though, so now you only ever have to miss school a few times. You never get in trouble because your uncle is pretty important, and no one would dare do something to you. Plus, you're an all-A's student.

As you walk down the halls, you hear footsteps behind you, but you don't make much of it. Someone taps your shoulder and your body tenses up. You then relax, realizing you're in school, and turn around.

"Yea-" You start, but don't finish because Brittany Pierce is standing in front of you. You cough a couple of times to hide you're obvious failure to communicate with another human being.

"Uh… Hey" She says, smiling a really cute half-smile, and you smile back "I was wondering if… maybe you could help me studying for the math exam tomorrow?" She asks, her cheeks going an adorable tint of red.

"Oh. Yeah, sure" You mumble, and she stares at you expectantly. "Oh yeah right… Can it be over in my house?"

"Sure"

"Okay then. So like, can you come over after school?" You ask, rubbing the back of your neck nervously.

"Of course" She replies "I'll meet you in your locker".

She leaves before you can ask how the hell she knows where your locker is.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You walk out of class with your heart beating faster than it does when you're fighting. Yeah, Brittany has that effect on you.

You get to your locker and start getting what you need. When you're done, you close it and Brittany's standing behind it.

"Fuck" You jump.

"Oh. Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you". She giggles.

"It's okay" You smile "Shall we?"

You walk silently to your house. You're really nervous so you don't try to make small talk. For some reason, Brittany's twiddling her fingers and for a second you think that maybe she's nervous too, but you quickly delete that thought. That's just hopeful thinking.

You lead her to your 'apartment', which is basically a tiny apartment next to the actual house. People think you have that because you're rich or something, but you know better. Your uncle just doesn't want to deal with you.

After a while, you're both on the sofa, and you're helping her on a question. Sometimes, her hand brushes against yours or she gets extremely close to you and you think you've died a hundred times already. She's actually pretty good, she just doesn't really know how to organize her thoughts. You told her that, and she blushed (you almost choked on your own saliva because dammit was that cute). When she admits she's tired, you tell her that you think she'll do pretty good on the test.

"So… Why do you live here?" She asks, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I just… Do. I don't know" You shrug. She chuckles.

"And you live with your uncle right?" She asks, to which you nod "Is it too much if I ask you why?"

"Uh… Not at all. My mother died when I was nine…" You consider telling her for two seconds, but then you decide on the simple answer "My dad, too" You cringe at calling him that.

"Oh" She says, putting her hand on your shoulder "That's awful" She says, and she does look pretty sad.

"Anyway" You say getting up so the mood won't get too bad "What do you wanna do now?" You ask.

"Stargaze?" She says, looking down shyly.

You chuckle and she smiles hopefully. Your insides go all warm.

"Sure."

As you walk outside, she spots your mini hangar. You feel the urge to punch yourself in the face for leaving it's door open.

"Wow! That looks so cool! It'd be great to dance in such a big space" She says while walking in it's direction. You don't really have the guts to tell her not to go there because it would end with you having to come up with an explanation and you really suck at that. You basically pray to god that you haven't left anything that'll reveal who you are in plain view.

When you both walk in, you let out a sigh of relief. There's only the bettered and old punching bag hanging in a corner, and a few weapons thrown around.

"Okaaaaaaaay" She whispers, looking slightly shocked. "I thought it wasn't true" She mumbles.

"What wasn't true?" You ask curiously.

"Oh… Uh. Nothing" She says, nervously.

"Brittany? You're a terrible liar." You say, smiling slightly.

"There's just this… This rumor going around that you… That you street fight?"

You laugh. You laugh for a really good while because fuck, people are so weird.

"Oh um… Alright then" You answer.

"I mean, you show up all bruised sometimes… And miss school. It's just weird" She says.

"Nah, it's okay. Rumors are rumors" You answer.

"So… You're not explaining?" She asks, flashing a half-smile.

"Um… Someday, maybe?" You say, smiling at her. She chuckles. She then pulls you to the middle of the hangar.

"Let's dance!" She exclaims.

"Uh… I'm not very good at that" You say awkwardly. She just shrugs your comment off.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

You two danced for almost a hour. Okay, she danced for almost an hour. You just gave up after a while and just watched as she danced to whatever song played on the speakers you turned on for her.

You don't think you've ever seen someone dance like that. She just looks so comfortable and seems to float around, her movements seem calculated but spontaneous at the same time and it's probably the best thing in the world to watch her dance. Okay, maybe holding her hand or hugging her or kissing her are better but you're completely happy with what you've got.

"Thanks for that" She says, breathing heavily.

"You dance like an angel" You mutter before you can stop yourself. You cheeks instantly grow warmer.

She blushes, too, and you two just stare at each other with silly smiles before you exclaim "Stargazing!". She chuckles and follows you to the garden. You lay down first, and she lays beside you. You feel like she's a bit closer than what is the 'normal' distance, but you don't mind at all (you love it).

"I like the stars" She mumbles after a while of comfortable silence.

"Me too. They remind me of certain people" You say, and you don't get why you're telling her such a personal fact, but you don't care.

"Examples?" She asks shyly.

"Uh… My mother. She was always kind and all that. She was like a star" You mumblr, almost not making any noise at all.

"Maybe she's up there" Brittany says. You feel her fingers search for your hand, so you hold her hand. She squeezes yours tightly, and you think you're having trouble breathing.

"So… Brittany Pierce, what's your favorite color?" You ask. You feel her body shake against yours, so you presume she's laughing.

"Yellow" She says "What about yours?"

"I like gray and black" You say, to which she looks at you and makes a strange face. You chuckle "I like blue, too".

She smiles and you smile too, turning back to the sky (though her eyes are way more beautiful).

"You do really well in school right?" She asks quietly.

"I guess"

"How? I mean, not to be rude but you never seem to pay attention to class. Plus, you miss classes a lot" She says shyly.

"I have a lot of free time" That's a lie.

"Okay". She says simply.

After what feels like forever and only a few minutes, she turns on her side, staring at you, so you mirror her actions.

"I wanna thank you for today, Santana. I had a great time".

"Me too" You mumble.

She leaves a while after that. You offer to walk her home but she says her house is close by (which isn't true) and that she doesn't want to be a bother. You reply that she won't be, but she leaves anyway.

You aren't really in the mood to do anything, so you put on your 'vigilante outfit' (which consists on black, tight pants, a white shirt, tactical balaclava, gloves, the bo, the throwing knives and military boots) and go for a round around the city.

After about twenty minutes, you listen a yell not far away from where you are, so you follow the noise.

You almost trip on your own feet and fall down the building you're in when you see it's source.

Brittany's backing into an alley while a dirty-looking man walks slowly in her direction. You see something shining in his hand.

A knife.


	2. Chapter 2

You don't have time to think, so you just let your limbs do the work. You run towards the edge of the building, jumping and grabbing the emergency stairs on the wall of the opposite building, swinging yourself back and hitting the man in the head with your boots. He yells out in pain and surprise, and you barely fall onto the ground before you're getting up.

"Br- Run!" You yell to Brittany, almost letting her name scape through your lips. You're too engrossed in watching her confused expression, too nervous and anxious, that it doesn't even cross your mind that the man may be already up. Brittany looks at you with a desperate expression and he's grabbing your neck and pushing your against a wall. You can feel the cold bricks hit your back and you grunt. You've always been good and handling pain, but it still hurts like a bitch.

"You sho-shouldn't have touched her" You spit, having difficulty in speaking with his huge hands wrapped around your neck, suffocating you. When you're about to kick him with your knee, you see hands holding something over his head, and in a second he's fallen to the floor.

"Alright" You mumble, slightly out of breath "Could've handled him" You tell her. You throat feels raspy from forcing your voice to sound different for so long, but you can't risk it.

"I… I k-know" She informs you.

"Next time" You say, getting just inches away from her face. You'd probably kiss her if it wasn't for the balaclava covering the lower half of your face. Her lips are extremely kissable, you muse "Run when I tell you to, Blondie".

"Yes ma'am" She says, looking quite shaken up with it all. It does something to your insides.

"Are you alright?" You ask, cringing internally because you don't do this. You don't care for the people you save. You kick the bad guy's ass and leave. You never ask them if they're okay for a very simple reason: Of course they're not.

"I will be" She murmurs, nodding her head slightly.

"Off you go, then" You tell her. You start to walk towards the emergency stairs, meaning to go to the top of the buildings again, when she holds your wrist. The part of it that's not covered in the black, leather gloves goes all tingly.

"Thank you" She lets out.

You wait for her to let go of your arm before you climb up. You watch her for the rest of the way, just to make sure she's okay. She's keeps looking around, hugging herself, and you feel your chest tighten at the sight.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It's been two weeks since Brittany went over to your house and all that shit happened, and you've only shared glances and little waves in the hallways. You always curse yourself for not saying hi properly but it's kinda intimidating, which is ironic because for some reason people think of you as a badass.

You're leaving school when you spot Brittany heading to the parking lot. You watch her leave, silently wishing you'd have the guts to ask her to come over or something. You also want to know if she's okay, but you can't. You spot a guy walking over to her, and once you see it's Noah Puckerman, your muscles go rigid. He's known to be the biggest asshole in school. He seems to be asking her something, and she looks annoyed and slightly frightened. You start to walk over, having a feeling that something's going on.

"Stop being so stupid, Pierce. Just come already" He's saying, getting a little violent, his grip on her arms tightening.

"Oi, Noah. Let her go" You tell him. Both of them look around, spotting you. You just stand there. He doesn't make any other move. You walk towards him, trying to look nonchalant.

"I told you to let her go, didn't I?" You ask, raising your eyebrows.

"I'm okay, San" Brittany tries to reason, but you are not letting this asshole ruin her day.

"Just fuck off Puckerman, and I won't have to beat you up". You tell him, gritting your teeth, and pushing him a bit.

"Don't touch me!" He exclaims, and you see he lets go of Brittany. You should just walk away, but you really hate the boy. He's a huge bully, so you push him again, more forcefully.

He kinda reminds you of a bull with the face he makes, and you let a chuckle scape. He doesn't seem to take that nicely. You totally see it coming, and even start to block it, but you decide against it. The punch goes right against your nose, and it hurts more than you expect it.

"Son of a bitch, that hurt!" You exclaim, bending over yourself and covering your nose. You can feel blood trickling down your face.

You sense him walking over, so you surprise him by suddenly throing your head up and kneeling him in the stomach, which makes him bend over in pain. You see people forming a circle around you three, Brittany looking distressed. You decide you shouldn't hurt him too bad, so you just grab him by his collar and throw him to the floor, kneeling down with each leg by his sides and pull him up.

"If I see you being a dick to one more person, whoever it is, it's gonna be much worse" You mumble just so he's the only one who can hear "I wouldn't tell the principal who's done this, either". You affirm, getting up and walking away, grabbing Brittany's hand and pulling her with you, out of the circle of people who are still surrounding Puck.

When you get to the sidewalk, she turns to look at you.

"Why did you do that?" She exclaims, exhasperated.

"He was being a dick!" You try to protect yourself.

"Well, let him! Violence doesn't solve anything!" She yells at you.

"Well, he seemed pretty reluctant on fucking people up again…" You start, half ironic.

"Well, you were just as bad as him to me!" She yells even louder. Her words make you cringe.

You just stand there as she walks away, a part of you wanting to run after her, another wanting to punch yourself and the last just doesn't want to move ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello there. Thanks to everyone who favorite and followed this story.**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

It's almost midnight, the same day Brittany yelled at you. You didn't go out for a round around the city today. It made you feel guilty, but you tried to keep your mind off of it. It hasn't been that hard since you keep thinking about Brittany. You keep wondering how she's dealt with the almost-mugging/whatever-else-which-you-choose-not-to-consider-because-it-makes-you-want to-throw-up.

You make a decision that can or cannot be influenced by the 5 cups of coffee you just drank, but you shrug that off and get out of bed, run out of you apartment and into the hangar. You then open the secret door to a tunnel that leads back into your apartment. You go up the ladder and end up inside your armory. You grab the outfit and your usual weapons (the weapons are more of a cover than anything. You won't need them anyway) and leave your house through the secret passage.

You do the same thing you do every day: Climb to the top of a building and jump from one to another. It's a good thing your city was planned, and for some reason they put most buildings in this area the same height. You get to a point where they start varying too much, though, so you begrudgingly go to the ground. It feels weird to just jog around the city in this clothes. You thank god it's late enough so there aren't many people walking around. There still some, though, and they stare at you, some point, some seem intimidated, a few laugh.

You make it to Brittany's house. You stand close to it, hiding for a while, before you walk to her window, which is in the second floor. The only reason to why you know where she lives is that you followed her two weeks ago. You're not _that _much of a creep. At least, that's what you tell yourself.

You don't really know what to do. You think of throwing rocks on her window, but that's really ridiculous. You stand there for a full minute before deciding on just knocking on her window. You climb up the side of her house (not that there's something impossibly convenient like in the movies, you're just very good at it).

You make sure the balaclava is in place and that the hood of your outfit is pulled in front of your forehead. You eyes are the only thing visible, basically. You turn your back to the window, half sitting on the window sill so you won't look like you're spying or anything, and knock on the window with the back of your hand. There's a beat before you hear something that sounds a lot like a "What the-?" before someone abruptly opening the window. It's so abrupt that you're pushed forward, but you reassume your balance.

"What the actual-" She starts, but you quickly turn around and press your gloved hands against her mouth. She looks extremely scared.

"Shhh" You whisper. You try to blink as much as possible so she won't recognize your eyes (not that you think she pays attention to them) "Quiet" You tell her, trying to sound gentle while you're thickening and adding a bit of an accent to your voice so she won't recognize it. You knew all those lessons were going to come in handy one day.

You let go of her slowly. She doesn't move at all. After what feels like minutes, you awkwardly cough.

"I just wanted to see if you're… okay?" You say, half affirming and half asking. It's a good thing she can't see you blush underneath the gray fabric.

"You're The Shadow. A super hero" She states weirdly.

"Not…" You cringe "Super hero. But go on" You say. It's a really weird conversation. You're both awkwardly standing in the middle of her bedroom, she's in her pajamas and you're dressed as a fucking maniac, and none of your know what to say.

"How do you know where my house is?" She asks. It's a legitimate question, you think.

"I have my ways" You state. You try to seem comfortable with the whole situation, forcing yourself to get into character and act as confident and powerful as The Shadow actually is.

She sits on her bed and stares at you.

"I should be creeped out." She mutters.

"Probably, yeah" You answer.

"I'm just… Flattered?" She says, and you do a half gasp, half cough of surprise." I mean, you're magical. You save people. And came all the way here just to see if I'm okay. That's pretty awesome" She says matter of factly.

You can't help the wave of warmth that takes over you as she says that. She really is amazing.

"I… Guess". You shrug. You two stand in silence for a while before you open your mouth again. It's already getting annoying to force your voice so much "You didn't answer me".

"Oh, sorry. I'm okay" She says. You must look doubtful because she walks over timidly and stands in front of you, who are leaning on the wall by the window, keeping an overly cautious distance between you both "You saved me. Maybe I'd be… Dead if it wasn't for you. Thank you".

This time, you don't pretend to ignore her, you don't walk away. You stand where you are, still blinking like a crazy person, trying to act cool while you're inside the bedroom of the girl you have a crush on for more than a year.

"Just… Promise me you'll be more cautious next time. I know it wasn't your fault, obviously, but just… Be careful " You say, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Pinky promise" She says, extending her pinky in front of you. You wait a beat before you interwine yours with hers.

For a second, you think about asking her where she was, if it was important, something like that, so maybe you'd find out what she thinks of you (the non-psych maniac-vigilante you). But you realize that maybe that's cause you to blow your cover, so you just step out throw the window, grabbing the window sill and letting your body hover against the wall for a while before launching yourself backwards. You fall to the ground with a thud. You straighten yourself and walk away without looking back.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It's now Monday. Your first class today is with Brittany, and you're a bit scared. A small part of you thinks she will look at you and exclaim something like "It's you!", even though you took every possible precaution before showing up on her room on Friday.

You sit in the back of the class, and there's still a few minutes left before the bell rings, so close your eyes and try to calm down. You also really tired. Someone enters the classroom, but you don't open your eyes until they sit right next to you. You lazily open them, searching for said person, and you gulp slightly when you see Brittany looking at you.

"Uh. Hey" She says, waving at you.

"Hello".

" I wanted to… Apologize for Friday. It was kinda mean of me" She says, and she does look apologetic. You sigh internally, relieved.

" That's okay.. It was no big deal" You shrug it off.

"I just… You made it look like I can't protect myself. And used violence, to top it all" She says, shrugging.

"Oh… I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't realize that" You admit.

"That's okay. A friend of mine made me realize that sometimes things can get a little bit tougher" She says, and you realize that she's probably talking about you. As The Shadow. " We're still friends right?" She asks innocently. You smile at her.

"Of course we are" You assure her, and she beams.

x-x-x-x-x-x

**I'd like it if someone told me what you'd prefer: long chapter which would take me longer to update, or short ones (1,000 words) that'd take less long. Maybe just tell me around how many words you'd like.**


	4. Chapter 4

***awkward cough* So yeah took me long enough. I really wasn't feeling like writing because of… Stuff. But yeah, sorry if that shows in this chapter. Also, thanks for all the followers and stuff. So there's a lot of plot development in this chapter. Anyway, on we go. As you guys probably know by now, this isn't beta'd, so sorry for any mistakes. I'm too lazy to reread everything and it's really late and I have been writing for hours so yeah sorry.**

It'd be an understatement if someone said you were whipped. It is so bad, if Brittany asked you to tap dance on your uncle's face, you probably would ask for the shoes. And it's even worse because you're not even dating, so that's a bit awkward.

And that leads to you promising her you won't get into a fight with anyone again. You get a bit sad for lying to her, but the bright smile she gives you after you say "I promise" makes it all worth it.

"Can I uh walk you to class?" You ask her as everyone leaves the classroom. You don't even know how you got the courage to ask her that but you pat yourself on the back for not acting like a jackass in front of her. You're pretty sure she looks surprised for half a second.

"I'd like that" She says.

"Are you going to the school's fundraising event this Saturday?" She asks you, and you simply nod and hum in response.

"Are you?" You ask. The event is kind of a weird attempt for the school to get money to this year's prom, and you know they won't succeed. Your uncle's the one who suggested you'd go and donate what you think will be a pretty big amount of money.

"Yeah. I'm not sure if it'll work, but we can try" She explains, and you agree.

You talk a bit more before she says "here we are" and you hope you don't look too disappointed. You exchange goodbyes and she tells you you should meet up more often. You agree and wait until she's inside the classroom to turn around. The bell rings and you look around, realizing you are at the other side of the school to where your class is. Cursing under you awkwardly jog towards the classroom.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Saying your uncle is absent would also be an understatement. Sometimes, he's away for a month, and even when he's home, he is always working and pretending you're not there. So when he invites you to go out for dinner you have to keep yourself from widening your eyes. You agree, of course.

So here you are, excitedly waiting for your uncle on a fancy restaurant on a Friday night. You see him approaching you, and he half smiles your way while walking over. He's a fancy-looking man, always wearing slacks and white button-ups, with his dark hair with some silver lines, and exceedingly good posture and manners. No one would even think you're related, since you wear 'normal' clothes and don't act like there's something stuck up your ass all the time. He reminds you of your father, and you're pretty sure that's the reason you're so uncomfortable around him.

"Good evening." He says, to which you answer. He sits down "I've been meaning to talk to you for quite some time now".

"Is that a good thing?" You ask cautiously. A waiter comes over and take's both of your orders.

"I'm afraid not". He says.

"Is it about him?" You ask, praying it isn't.

"In a way".

You feel like you're going to throw up, you're light headed and your hands feel clammy.

"Can you just… Wait, uncle Harry? Can we just have a normal dinner? At least once" You ask hopefully.

He looks at you curiously, and there's a hint of pity somewhere there too. He gives you a warm smile.

"Of course we can" He says softly. For a second you feel happy with how nice he's being, but then you realize it's because of what he has to tell you. You're fucked.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dinner goes surprisingly smooth and you find yourself actually enjoying it. Harry was uptight at first, but loosened up after a while. You don't think you've ever actually talked to him as much as you did now, and it's pleasant. It's pleasant to talk to someone who knows about your secret identity. To talk someone who's older than you. You missed that.

But it ends in the blink of an eye, and there you are again, taking deep breaths as he speaks.

"I got yesterday. Didn't open it. It's for you" He says as he pulls something out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

You take a deep breath, opening the white envelope. There's only your name in it, nothing more.

The white, common paper inside is a bit battered, like it was in someone's pocket for some time. There's also a smaller paper, a note. You put it aside.

"_My dearest Santana,_

_Or should I call you The Shadow? I'll ask you when we finally meet._ _I've been looking forward to that._

_On we go, then. I've been watching you, my dear girl. I know a lot about you by now. That blonde girl? Go for it."_

Each word makes you dizzy. Each word makes you want to throw up. You're taking rapid breaths.

"_One person a day. One bullet a day. The city's small, my dear girl, and you are, too._

_With love,_

_Bull's-eye."_

You want to scream. You want to drop dead. Bull's-eye. Who the hell that is, you're finding them, and you're going to kill them.

"Santana? What does it say?" You uncle asks, taking hold of your hand.

"Who is Bull's-eye?" You whisper. He simply shakes his head. "I'm going to see Artie" You inform him as you get up.

"The note" You uncle reminds you. You sit back down and pick it up.

You read the first two words and throw the note back on the table pushing yourself backwards. The chair scrapes against the floor. You put you hands over your face and try not to puke.

"Do you want me to read it for you?" Your uncle asks.

You shake your head and pick it back up, controlling your breath and trying to relax. Your heart is beating too fast.

"_My daughter,_

_Did you miss me? I hope so._

_I sent you a little present, just for you. To keep you entertained. Hope you enjoy it._

_With all my love,_

_You dear father"_

You slowly put the note back on the table. You try to maintain a blank expression as you look at your uncle.

"He's back" You state. He doesn't look surprised.

"Never thought he left" He shrugs.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You knock on the door, but nobody answers. You kick it, still no answer. You're too tired, too drained to give a fuck as you walk backwards and throw yourself, shoulder-first, against the door to the small house on the outskirts of town. A beeping noise starts and you punch the alarm by the (now fallen and useless) door. It's pieces fall to the floor, and the beeping stops. You feel blood running down your hand, but you honestly couldn't give less fucks.

The sound of wheels against linoleum gets closer and in a matter of seconds a very scared Artie is standing(or sitting? You don't know what to call it) in the doorway that leads to his "play-ground". There's a Taser in his hands.

"Dude. A taser? Seriously?" You chuckle.

"Are you crazy?" He whines, looking at all the destroyed things that surround you. You shrug.

"I need information. Now. Everything you can get about someone called Bull's eye" You demand, walking forward. You push him inside the "play-ground".

"You could get that yourself!" He whines again.

"Terrible day. Not enough patience" You reply. He groans but gets to work. You sit in silence, a million thoughts going through your head, when you realize something. Bull's eye knows about Brittany. He probably knows where she lives. "One person a day." He said. He's going to kill a person a day, and there's absolutely no reason for him not to kill her.

"Artie. A computer. Now" You demand firmly, and it must be scary because in 2 seconds there's a laptop over your lap.

You go to the 'Lima daily' website. There it is.

"_Man shot on local restaurant Breadsticks" _Says the headline. It was only an hour ago. You left two hours ago. In one hour he managed to kill someone, if you waited for one hour you could've caught him.

"Bull's eye" Artie says after half an hour "He's a sniper" He states, and you groan. You knew that by now "Never missed a shot, has killed all over the world. He's like a ghost, though. Uses his own bullets, no way to track him. No fingerprints, nothing. He just… Kills. There's something about having all of his skin burned, though. Not a certain thing, but there's a pretty good chance."

" That's it?" You ask, almost absent-minded.

"Sorry. Like I said, the guy's a ghost" He replies, and you can tell he really is sorry.

"Thanks, Artie" You mutter, and he gives you a halfhearted smile before you walk away.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It's 5 a.m. You haven't slept since yesterday, since the dinner, and you can feel your brain pulsating against your skull. But you made progress.

You know what he's doing. He is going to mess with you, he's trying to show you what he's able to do. He killed someone right under your nose, and he will do it again. So you decide you won't leave the house. Even if it takes months, you won't leave the house until he shows up in your door and tries to kill you.

You push the thoughts about your father to the back of your mind, try to pretend it isn't bothering you, because you have to focus on catching Bull's eye.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It's 2 p.m. and the fundraising event ended long ago. You asked the driver to take the money to the school. You really don't think you have enough energy to go there. And you can't risk it, either. Your phone rings, and it's an unknown number, so you instantly freeze. You wait a few rings before you pick it up. An all-too-familiar voice invades your ears and it's like a warm bath.

"Santana?" Brittany says.

"Hey Britt-Britt" You answer, smiling. At least, something good to lighten up your day.

"I'm like, standing in this super fancy gate that leads to your house and everything's super fancy so I'm not entirely sure of what to do?" She says, sounding embarrassed, and the chuckle that leaves your lips is light and welcome.

"Just wait a sec, I'll be right there." You tell her.

You leave your 'apartment', and none of you hang up as you walk down the path that leads to the front gates.

"Hey there" You say, smiling at her. She looks so cute, sitting with her back against the gates, and the phone against her ear.

She gets up quickly, turning around. You press the button and open the gates just enough for her to come in.

"In you go" You say. She's blushing slightly.

"Er… Sorry. Your house's just too fancy for me" She says awkwardly. You laugh again.

"It's way too extravagant" You agree "You'll get used to it, though."

As soon as you say it, you blush, because you basically just said she would come over often. She lets it slide.

"Anyway, I just wanted to know why you didn't come to the event. Though you look pretty bad so I guess you were sick?" She smiles.

"Geez, thanks mate" You joke, and she gasps, looking apologetic "It's okay. I guess you could say I'm sick, yeah".

"Okay then, I'll get going" She says.

"You had my phone number" You state.

"Yup" She says, pushing her hands down her pockets.

"You could've called" You state again. You're smirking.

"Yup" She says again, and starts walking backwards.

"That's it? Don't you want to, I don't know, stick around for a-" Your sentence is cut short by a scream. You both widen your eyes. It's a terrible scream, and it cuts through the air like a knife.

You run towards the sound, searching for it's source, and you almost trip on your own feet as you see one of the guards just laying on the middle of the garden.

Rushing forward, you kneel besides him, checking for pulse, and there's none. He's dead. You change your behavior, then, and look for the entrance of the bullet. You run to where you hope is it's source. Stopping dead in your tracks, you turn around and see Brittany standing there, too shocked to move, not even close enough to see the corpse.

"BRITTANY!" You yell, and she looks at you "Get into the house. Now" You tell her, and after a moment, she does so.

You wait for her to get inside before running back to the small strip of woods that surrounds your house. You follow the trail of broken twigs carefully. You stop when a deep, throaty and awful voice fills your ears.

"One person a day. One bullet a day" Says the man who's suddenly standing in front of you. He's leaning against a big tree. His whole face is covered in bandages, wrapped around his head. You can see his hands are, too. He's wearing a black suit, the typical suit. There's a gun sling on his shoulder, and you can tell he's made major modifications to it.

"Bull's eye, I assume" You try to sound more confident than how you feel.

"Smart" He says sarcastically. You make a move, going forwards, but he holds up a bandaged finger up "Wouldn't do that if I were you" He points to the ground. There's a land mine right in front of your feet. It's well hidden, but not enough. Not to you.

"I see you. I know you. You can't run away from me, Rootless child." He says before turning around and walking with confidence out of your eyesight. You know it isn't a good idea to follow him. You're unprepared, unarmed. Who knows what else he planted, anyways.

You walk back to the house, defeated. Brittany's inside the kitchen, drinking tea. Your uncle's there, too, and you can tell by the way he's moving that he's stressed. You give him a questioning look, asking him if he took care of the corpse, and he nods solemnly.

"Britt-Britt? Let's go to my house, okay?" You tell her, and she agrees silently. She approaches you and grabs your hand. She's shaking slightly. You pull her towards you, hugging her and kissing her neck, trying to calm her.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"San?" She murmurs, and you hum against her hair. You're both laying down on your couch, she had her head against your chest and you're running your hands through her hair. It's a very intimate position, but she seemed like she needed it. You did, too.

"What just happened?" She asks. You sigh.

"If I asked you to just forget about it, would you?"

"No"

You chuckle halfheartedly.

"It was scary, San. You were scary, too." She says, and your heart breaks a little bit.

"I know. I know" You say slowly, trying to think of an explanation.

"So?"

"Let's just say… My family's involved in some pretty deep shit, okay? I'm sorry you had to presence that"

She sighs, defeated, and hums against your collarbone.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You turn the TV on and Adventure Time is on, so you leave it there after she chuckles at you for watching the Cartoon Network, saying that "you're supposed to be badass". You mumble groan at her and jokingly tell her not to tell anyone. You ask her to pinky promise, and she does.

You're both sitting comfortably, taking a sip of tea every once in a while, and she has her head on your shoulder. It's nice.

"Why do you always look so tired?" She questions suddenly.

"I'm not very good at the sleeping area" You answer.

She smiles in response, but you can tell she's a bit annoyed at all your answers. They don't really answer much.

"Come here" She instructs, and after a lot of arguing, you laying with your head on her lap and she's caressing your head.

"I don't want to sleep while you're here" You whine. She laughs.

"I'll be here when you wake up" She says.

With that promise ringing in your ears, you quickly fall asleep.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You wake up to the sound of Brittany laughing. You smile to yourself, it'd be nice to wake up to that everyday. Really nice.

"Oh, sorry. I woke you up" She says.

"It's okay" You mumble, sitting up "My hair must look like shit" You say, more to yourself than to her.

She stifles a giggle before saying "I think it looks… Pretty" and giggling again. You grunt and get up, walking slowly to the bathroom. You fix your hair and wash your face before looking at the time. Eight p.m.

"Are you hungry?" You ask, walking back inside the living room.

"Kinda" She says, blushing. You chuckle.

"Pizza?" You ask, and she jumps a bit on her seat "Pizza It is."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Someone died, right?" She asks, as you wait for the pizza. You sigh for the hundredth time today.

"Did you see anything?" You ask.

"Not really. It was only the scream, then you running, then coming back and telling me to go inside. That's it"

You sigh in relief.

"The less you know, the better. I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark, but it's for the best"

She opens her mouth to say something, but then someone's opening the front door.

"Santana! Your goddamned pizza is here" Says Linda, the housekeeper "I don't know why you insist in having junk food when we have such a good-"

"Yeah yeah yeah Linda, good cook, eating healthy, gaining weight… I know the speech by heart by now" You argue, taking the pizza from her.

"At least have a fruit later, okay?" She asks, and you laugh because you're probably the healthiest person she's ever known.

"Yup" You tell her, closing the door with your foot. It may or may not have been in her face.

"Yeah Santana, have a fruit later" Says Brittany, giggling.

You groan.

"Okay, you officially know too much about me. Time to go" You joke. She laughs.

You have light conversation while eating, and you can't help but smile fondly when she eats the crusts of your pizza. It's very… Domestic. You like it. She smiles back.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You're standing by the gates, in front of her car, and she's telling you how much fun she's had, and thanking you for taking care of her. It's weird. Someone died in this house today. She trusts you too much, you muse.

She's with her back against the car, leaning on it, and you're standing right in front of her. She's holding both of your hands.

"Today was weird" She concludes.

"Yup" You say, raising your eyebrows.

"So… Good night" She says. You really don't want her to go. You step closer. You think of the times she blushed at your actions, or that one time you totally caught her checking one girl out, or that she smiles so fondly at you, and makes you move closer.

Your face is standing inches away from hers. You kiss her lips softly. Your whole body lightens up, and everything goes tingly. It's glorious. Your lips aren't even moving and it's already glorious. You feel her relax against you. You wait to see if she'll push you away. She doesn't. You press closer, but pull away quickly. You both sigh at the loss.

She smiles at you. Her eyes shine a bit. You smile back.

"Night" You answer with the goofiest grin "See ya".

"See ya" She says, opening her car's door. You watch the car turn right on the end of the street before walking inside.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Your uncle's pissed. To say the least.

"-and the fucker walks inside my own fucking house and just fucking shoots Julius? What the fuck was that?!" He screams.

"I followed him, but I just couldn't… I know his plans, okay?" You explain "I'll get to him"

"Then hurry the fuck up!" He sound frustrated "Two people are dead! God, what the fuck am I doing? I seriously am trusting a fucking teenager on this?" He asks himself.

"Well this fucking teenager had been training since she was fucking ELEVEN YEARS OLD! THIS FUCKING TEENAGER KNOWS MORE ABOUT FIGHTING THAN ANY OF YOUR FUCKING GUARDS! THIS FUCKING TEENAGER HAS BEEN WATCHING OVER THIS FUCKING SHIT HOLE FOR ALMOST A YEAR!" You snap.

He sighs, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"I trust you" He says simply.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Soooooo what do you think? Do you prefer this format? Just review away mates.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So what I'd like to tell you guys is that you should remember that this is an (a pretty dark btw) AU so there will be some things that won't really fit the normal character and that may seem out of place. That goes for you, Santana.**

**Also, I wanted to know if the whole The Shadow outfit is a bit confusing? If it is I could do something about it like showing you guys a design or describing it better.**

**Trigger warning for a bit of gore.**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

You got some sleep after Brittany left. She made you feel at ease, and you relaxed while she was around. You wanted to jump around because you had kissed the lips you so eagerly wanted for basically a whole school year and now you had.

After thinking about the kiss for a while, you finally fell asleep. It was full of nightmares. You dreamt you were running through a forest and every once in a while, Bull's eye showed up in front of you. If it wasn't him, it'd be your father. The father who you thought had died when you were 9 years old.

You don't know what to do with all the new information.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You wake up screaming, your whole body covered by a layer of sweat. You're not quite sure of what made you wake up like this, but you have an idea.

You get up slowly, feeling drained. Too much is happening at the same time, and it feels like a day doesn't have enough hours and there's too much in your head, and you instantly feel your heart rate pick up. You walk into the bathroom and try to calm yourself down while throwing cold water on your face. You hold yourself up with the help of the sink. After a while, you calm down.

You walk out of the bathroom and instantly fall into combat position when you see someone standing in the doorway of your bedroom. You hear a chuckle.

"It's just me" Says Harry.

You relax and let yourself fall back on your bed. You feel the bed dip beside you, and when he speaks up, his voice is much closer.

"I'm worried about you. I want to know what I can do to help you" He says, and you can tell he really is. He doesn't do this often, come over to talk to you. He never offers to help.

"You can call the school and tell them I've got cancer or something so I won't have to go there until I'm able to" You say, and look at him just in time to see him smile slightly.

"I will. Not cancer, though" He says. You chuckle.

"Not cancer" You agree.

"What else?"

"Nothing else. I really don't… I don't see how you could possibly help me".

"I know you don't. I know you have been preparing yourself to something like this. I know you wouldn't have to just deal with muggers for the rest of your life. But this is big, Santana. Too big". He speaks solemnly.

"I know. I just… It's personal. He knows Brittany. My f-… Harrison hired him, for god's sake! Do you even know what that means? He knows where I _live_".

"Trust me, I know my brother quite well. And I also know you are better than him. You just can't do it alone. You have this advantage against him. Use it".

You sigh deeply. He seems to realize this is a touchy subject, so he changes subject.

"Who's Brittany?" He asks. It's not in the teasing way a normal parent would say it. It's serious, questioning. It makes you realize how your relationships are dangerous.

"Just...A girl. From school" You tell him. You can tell he doesn't believe that's it, but he gets up either way, and leaves without another word.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You have a plan. It's not the best, and it's risky, but you have a plan and you will follow it. You're preparing everything, being careful not to leave the house. You know the plan is predictable and obvious, but you're trusting your instincts and training.

There are so many things that could potentially go wrong , and you are risking so many people's lives. Every person who works in your house has left. The only people present are you and your uncle.

You hope everything goes according to plan.

You sigh as you give the punching bag another wrist-breaking punch. You knuckles are sore and your arms feel like they don't belong to your body. There's sweat trailing down your body.

Everything's silent apart from the sound of your fists hitting the punching bag and your grunts. You should probably have stopped about an hour ago but you're too stressed, too worried and too _angry _to give a flying fuck to your health right now.

You think about you father (Harrison, you tell yourself. He is not your father, never was), about all those years of fake safety you felt. You feel guilty and there's rage coursing through your veins. You think of Bull's eye, and of how he came in and destroyed every strip of hope you ever had. They're connected, they're a threat. You'd kill both of them if you had the chance.

You think about Brittany. It's a very mundane thought, very simple, but yet so big, and you know, deep down, it's not any of that. She's much more than any of that. You truly believe you have never felt so connected to someone in your life before. You need to protect her, to keep her close. She's so very important to you, you don't even understand how important she actually is.

You let your arms fall to the side of your body. You can't let her be hurt because of you. You're too dangerous.

Turning around, you start walking out of the hangar when you see a piece of paper lying on the floor. You feel dizzy for a second, before bending down and picking it up.

"_Rootless child,_

_Hide and seek can be played by more than one person_

_I found you_

_Now you find me"_

You recognize the name instantly. Bull's eye called you that yesterday. It gives you chills for some reason.

Then you recognize something else.

The paper.

You've seen it before. You can't quite remember where, but you're pretty sure you know where it's from.

Your eyes widen and your heart stops when you finally do.

It's ripped page from Brittany's notebook. You recognize the tiny ducks that surround the lines, the colors. You feel like falling to the floor. You feel like sobbing.

You run. You never ran so fast before. You start to put the outfit on when you see a box on top of the white shirts. You open it quickly, Artie's name quickly registering in your mind. Inside is an apparently common white T-shirt, but you don't question the boy. You put it on, and leave in a matter of seconds.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The wind howls around you, and he roaring of the motorbike's engine rings in your ear. Your clothes slap against your body and you feel adrenaline and fear running through your veins, making you shake.

You arrive at her house, at the house you've been before, dressed just like you are right now, and it makes you feel a sense of betrayal on yourself, like you're sabotaging your own relationship.

You don't bother to pull up, literally jumping off of the motorcycle and running to her window. You can't hear anything, only the sound of your own heartbeat. There's a sound, then, and it makes you freeze and your blood boil, and you feel such an overwhelming fear it's almost incapacitating.

You walk slowly, afraid of the sight you may encounter, and in too much and yet too little time you're in her backyard.

The sight before you makes your heart clench and your eyes widen, your hands clench into fists and the muscles on your calf prepare themselves for sudden movement.

"Thought you'd never come" Says Bull's eye, and you can feel his smugness even if you can't see his expression. His eyes are the only thing visible in the mess that is the gauze wrapped around his head. They shine with a sort of madness you comprehend and recognize. You've seen it before.

"I wouldn't miss seeing your face for the world" You say, letting the sarcasm seep through your words. He doesn't seem to find it funny.

"I wouldn't make jokes when there's an innocent's life in the picture" He says, although you don't need a reminder that he's holding Brittany in a strong hold, his forearm pressed tightly around her neck and his right arm holding a gun, which is pressed against her temple. She seems to have given up fighting against him long ago, and the only form of protest is the tears that silently slide against her cheeks.

You feel so much anger, you don't quite know how you've managed to keep yourself from lounging against him.

"What's with the change of MO?" You ask, trying to keep him distracted while you map out your next moves.

"You cannot distract me, Rootless child" He says, and you chuckle. He is better than what you thought.

"So you're my father's puppet" You say, and can't help the way you spit the f-word "He seems to have a taste for the ones born in flames, doesn't him?"

You can see it. You can see that he seems to shake slightly, just a bit, and his right hand quivers, the gun wavering just a tad bit against the temple of the girl who occupies your thoughts.

"What happened, huh?" You ask him, and deep down, you mean it, too.

"I wouldn't play with fire, Rootless child" He says, and you hear the slight quiver in his voice. He takes off the safety of his gun, and his finger just started pushing the trigger.

Your right hand moves without you telling it too, and you grab a throwing knife, twisting your wrist and moving your whole body. It lands on his right hand, cutting though and getting stuck. He grunts, his handgun falling on the grass, and Brittany runs. He pulls her hair with his good hand, and she lets out a yelp of pain that makes your stomach clench.

You've already reached him, though, and with a quick twist of your body, you grab his arm, making him let go of her, and extend it. You look into his eyes as you let all the weight of your body land on your fist as it hits between the bones of his arm, on the elbow, and this time he actually yells, the pain being too much.

You just broke his arm.

"I wouldn't play with fire, faceless old man" You exclaim, almost jumping on the spot, fueled by adrenaline and some sort of maddening rage you don't quite understand.

You can't remember if The Shadow is supposed to know Brittany's name, so you turn around quickly and say "I would leave now, Blondie. This isn't going to be pretty". You don't wait for her to leave before looking at the source of so much anger.

He is standing in front of you, looking defeated, and it almost makes you stop. _Almost._

You pull him by the collar, and he doesn't fight back in any way. You turn him around abruptly, holding the back of his head and hitting his head against the back fence. He doesn't let out any sound.

You let go of him, and he falls to the ground tough his eyes are still opened. You drop your body, landing over him. Your thighs press against his sides and you tower over him.

You're taking rapid breaths through your mouth, spit flying and sticking to the balaclava, and your chest rises constantly. You look at him with a disgusted look.

The first punch lands on his nose, and it starts bleeding. The second, on his eye. You stop aiming on the third, just punching away, the sound of your leather gloves hitting flesh being the only sound you can hear over the beating of your heart and blood rushing to your ears. He just takes the beating, and you know you've lost control.

You hadn't done that in a long time. It almost feels like you're just watching someone else do it, and even though it is pleasurable, you still feel disgusted. There's blood seeping through the bandages and you know his face must be swollen, and you feel like a monster. You swore you'd protect people without letting it get personal. If it did, you knew you wouldn't be able to control yourself.

A hand lands on your shoulder. You almost punch it away, but then you realize who it belongs to and you instantly stop.

You didn't mean for her to see this.

She can't be afraid of you, that isn't what you planned.

Yet when you turn around, you can see fear in her eyes. You can see she's so very scared of you, and disgusted by what you just did, and that is only another way of letting you know how much better than you Brittany is.

She pities the man who held a gun against her temple.

She stands towering over you, and there's some sort of weird significance in that. You throw yourself away from the limp body. You sit down, keeping distance from both other people.

You look down to see that the gloves are ripped in the knuckles, leaving them bare and covered in blood.

You must've used more strength than what you thought.

You three seem to not move for what feels like centuries. Brittany's between you and Bull's eye, standing there and looking at nothing at all. Bull's eye hasn't moved since he fell to the ground. You are still sitting down, your knees pulled up against your chest.

You hear shuffling, and your head snaps up just in time to see Bull's eye extending his arm and grabbing the handgun. You get up before your mind realizes it, and you're already running towards him. He fires.

You don't really know what happens next, but you feel something hit flesh. You also hear a pained scream coming from behind you. You don't look back.

He lets go of the gun.

"One bullet a day" He whispers. You look at him, trying to control yourself. You grab the gun.

It's pointed at him, just between his eyes. Your hands are shaking.

With a swift motion, you hit his head with it, applying just enough strength on the right place to make him pass out.

You turn around, not bothering to look at him again.

Brittany's on the ground.

Her eyes re barely opened.

There's blood pooling on her shirt.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You know when people say that someone's meant for them? That there's someone out there who is waiting for you and all that?

You never believed that, and in that moment, you stopped believing in everything else, too.

Love. God. Angels, you name it. Anything good in the world stopped existing for you. There couldn't be something good in a world where Brittany bleeds. Not when there are tears running down her face. Not when she's about to die.

You feel numb.

"No… No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no" You mumble to yourself as you kneel beside her.

"Brittany? Love? Hold on okay? Please hold on. You're going to be okay" You try to soothe her, picking her limp body up carefully. You can't think properly.

You just stare at her, letting the tears fall down. Then you realize crying won't help. You won't help. So you look at her, who has now closed her eyes, at her chest rising and falling, and you start doing what you're supposed to do: You save her.

You pick up your disposable phone and call 911. It feels out of place, doing something so… common. You wait until you can hear sirens, which only takes a few minutes, before letting go of her body.

There seems to be a string tied around you and her, that keeps trying to pull you back to her, but you fight the urge and walk away, your heart clenching and your stomach churning. You've just turned around the corner when they arrive.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sooo a bit angsty, some Brittana, some anxiety, and a really confusing beginning. Fear not.**

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

The feeling of bricks breaking under your back is probably the only thing you actually felt in 15 days. The pain is welcomed, it matches with how bad you feel inside. You fall the floor, feeling cement dust all over your face and sharp stings of what you assume are pieces of the wall you just broke through pressing against your body. There's something else, too. You're pretty sure there's a gigantic lizard claw halfway inside your abs. You feel wind breezing past you as you hear two ridiculously different bodies pass by (and basically over) your fallen body.

You cough, trying to breathe again. Your lungs feel like they've been stepped on multiple times. Coughing turns out to be a bad idea since now there's way too much dust inside your mouth. You finally open your eyes, taking in your surroundings. There's a rather confused-looking couple laying in bed, there's a gigantic hole in their wall, and there is in fact a gigantic lizard claw in your abs. You grunt in pain.

"Sorry for interrupting" You mumble. You start pulling the claw out, your whole body contorting. You look down to see blood pooling and a white claw that's about the size of an open palm slowly making it's way out of your body.

"Shadow!" She yells, and you get up quickly, trying your best to ignore the pain that's throbbing all over your body.

You get into the living room, which looks destroyed, and spot the half lizard, half man thing you don't know the name holding Fevera by the neck. You quickly pull the bo out of the holster that goes over your shoulder with a swift movement, pressing the extending button while swinging it and hitting the creature on the back of it's head. He looks at you, those grotesque eyes staring at you before he lets go of Fevera. You see his enormous hand coming your way, so you close your eyes, in too much pain to try and protect yourself. It never connects to your face though. You open your eyes to see some sort of long distance weapon cutting through his arm, opening up and pulling his hand back, it's various spears keeping it from being ripped off. Fevera pulls the rope that's connected to the end of it, and his arm twists to an awkward angle. He grunts.

You pull out one of your knifes out of the holster and slam your whole body against his, planting it on his abdomen.

"Pay back's a bitch, Hermit".

You feel like you may pass out.

Lizard-man falls to the floor and you sigh, letting Fevera know it's up to her now. She seems to fiddle with her ridiculous utility belt for a bit before she pulls out a little red spray can. She applies to the thing and it seems to relax instantly.

You fall on the sofa.

"You could've used that an hour ago" You tell her, not having enough energy to even sound sassy.

"You need rest, Dark one" She tells you.

"Stop calling me that".

She doesn't seem to pay attention and simply tells you she can take care of this now.

You arrive in your house in no time, making sure no one sees you enter the sewers. Making sure nobody is following you.

You still don't trust this Fevera girl.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"You should get some rest" Says Harry. You wince as he starts stitching you up. You don't know what'd be of you if he wasn't a doctor.

"Sure" You say absent-mindedly. Not because of the pain.

You take a deep breath before letting the words fall from your mouth:

"How is she?" You ask quietly. You haven't asked for a week.

He sighs.

"Stable. She'll be able to go home in a couple of weeks if she overcomes the infection and the next surgery goes well" He says, while still working carefully on your lower abdomen. He finishes stitching, cleans up and bandages. You can't help but sigh in relief.

You start to get up from the hospital gurney when he presses you back down.

"There're still somethings I want to check" He says, while turning you around so that your back is facing him. The shirt and sleeveless sweatshirt are long gone, so he's able to see it all with only the sports bra on the way. He starts pressing his fingers against your skin softly. It still hurts like a bitch.

"I do not know anything about your relationship with that girl, nor do I need to know. But I know she's been asking me to tell you she'd like it if you visited her, and I think you should"

"I _can't. _I really thought we had already gone through that and-"

"Quiet. You put her in danger, true. She could've died, true. But she's alive and well and needing you so you might as well get up and go visit her"

You look down to your lap. Guilt overcomes you.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Putting on a mask and pretending you're someone else gives you courage, so that's why you're breaking inside a hospital room to see the girl of your dreams while wearing things that cover your face.

She's asleep, and you can't help but get closer to her bed and admire how beautiful and peaceful she looks.

Her mouth is opened just the slightest bit, her eyes are fluttering, but closed, and her hair falls around her like a halo. She looks beautiful.

You can't help but feel grief wash over you as you realize for the first time that you're falling for her.

Falling for her can get her killed.

You silently pull a chair at a safe distance of her bed and sit down, silently watching her sleep, something you've barely done over these two weeks. In some weird way, that tells you a lot about how different you two are, and how wrong for her you are.

She takes one hour to wake up, and thorough that one hour, all you do is think about how beautiful she looks and how she lying in that hospital bed because of your stupidity.

There's seething about her, something that keeps pulling you to her, and you're not quite sure of how close you should get. You dangerous, too dangerous, but you don't think you'd ever be able to let her go.

Not after discovering she likes you, too, even if just a bit. Not after seeing how hopeless you were thorough the days you didn't see her, the days she was between life and death. You barely stayed home, and when you were, you'd just stare blankly at the wall. Then those people found you and now your life feels like a gigantic snowball rolling down a mountain.

It's bound to only get worse.

You made sure no one was able to get inside the room until you told your uncle you were out. He demanded that he'd be the one to take care of Brittany, so he has the power to do so. Also, he's one of the big guys in the hospital.

Maybe he isn't as bad as you originally thought.

Brittany starts stirring awake, her eyes opening slowly and then closing again. She blinks a couple of times before looking your way. She doesn't flinch when she sees you sitting there.

"You" She mumbles, her voice raspy. You get up, handing her a glass of water that sits by her bed, moving slowly so that she doesn't feel intimidated.

You made sure not to bring weapons, and tried to look the least menacing you possibly could. Your whole body still hurts. You guess that's what you get when you're thrown against a concrete wall, while a giant lizard is pressing against you.

"I am terribly sorry" You tell her.

She seems to think about it for a moment before saying her next words.

"It's okay, it wasn't really your fault" She says.

Your heart feels warm all of sudden, and you feel like you're about to cry because she's too good for you. She's too good for anyone.

"You were scary back there" She says.

You swallow.

"I'm sorry, pretty girl" You say. She smiles sweetly at you, and you smile back even though she can't see it.

"You're sweet though" She tells you "And you saved me. Again"

You don't have the heart to tell her that you're the one who got her in trouble in the first place.

"The cops arrested him. You're safe now, pretty girl" You say. It's becoming an habit for you, to talk to her with a different voice, so you don't even notice anymore.

"Pinky promise?" She asks, extending her pinky.

You freeze. You swallow the lump in your throat before extending you pinky and interlacing them. She smiles up at you.

You have one leg out of the window when you remember something.

"What do you remember?" You ask silently, dreading the answer. After she got shot… Let's just say all caution flew out of the window.

"Everything's a blur after he fired. I don't really remember everything before but…" She shrugs.

You're hanging on the window sill by only your fingers, preparing to let go, when you hear her voice again.

"How do you know my name?"

You let go without answering.

You make it two blocks before breaking down. You sit down on the ground and cry. You cry and cry and cry just a bit more. You cry for Brittany. You cry out of rage for Bull's eye. You cry for yourself. You cry for all the bruises and cuts on your body from the last two weeks of frenzied crime fighting. You cry because you're in love. You cry because, according to Fevera, your newfound vigilante companion, the whole Bull's eye thing is bigger than what you imagined.

You cry because your father managed to ruin your life again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You slept for about two hours. You don't bother to try and get more sleep, getting up and taking a quick shower, putting on random clothes.

You have to see her. Face to face, this time.

So you leave your house and walk slowly to the hospital. It's still only 6 a.m. but you don't really care anymore, you just need to see her. You haven't really seen her since the kiss, so there's that, too.

It's rather easy to get to her room. The receptionist isn't that friendly and says you can't go in but after a little lesson about how to put razor blades in your hair and about who you're related to she lets you in with a flustered expression.

Brittany's parents are laughing, maybe because of something she said. They look over when they hear the door opening and you awkwardly wave at them. Brittany looks at you and you feel a sad kind of happy at how glad she looks.

"Hey" You say.

"Hello, dear" Her mother says, and you hear Brittany coughing awkwardly "I think we should let you girls talk, uh?"

They both get up, smiling as they walk passed you.

You wait until they're in a respectable distance before closing the door behind you.

"Hey again" You mumble.

Brittany giggles and you swear honey courses though your veins.

"C'mhere" She says, extending her arms.

You can't help the grin that spreads over your face as you walk forward. She smells like a hospital, but there's still that characteristic smell under it. It isn't any 'roses and smoke' bullshit. It's just… Brittany. Her arms are hugging you tight, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

You pull away and she lets you go, telling you to sit down.

"My uncle told me you uh… wanted me to come" You explain.

"Is that why you came, Santana?" She asks, eyebrow raised, and your name rolls out of her tongue deliciously. You gulp.

"Not meaning to be lame but I wanted to see you and stuff" You tell her, looking down at your lap.

You can see the remnants of what was once a blush tinting her cheeks when you look up.

"Are you okay?" You ask.

"I think so, yeah. The doctors said I was going to make it"

"That's not what I mean, Britt" You sigh. She smiles fondly at you.

"I'm going to be" She shrugs. You heart tightens "Do you know what happened?"

"Well, I know as much as the doctors do because of Harry and stuff so" You half shrug, leaning forward so you're closer to her. She lays her hand with it's palm up over the blankets. You gladly take it, for your hand is shaking.

"Can I tell you something? Promise you won't think it's stupid or made up?" She asks, barely above a whisper. You just squeeze her hand a little bit tighter.

"You know… The Shadow? That vigilante?"

"He was there, right?"

"Not he, she" She corrects your not-quite-so-accidental slip up "She came here, last night. Well, technically today"

"Alriiiiight" You say, dragging the word out so she knows she's supposed to keep going "Did she apologize, at least?" You feign ignorance.

"She didn't have to, San. It's not her fault" She says.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just…" You let the words float around you. You can't take your eyes off of her blue orbs and it's getting annoying but they're just _so _beautiful. She seems to notice you staring and smiles at you, warming up your whole body. You smile back warily.

"She's nice, you know?" She mumbles absent-mindedly. You give her a half-smile in response, feeling uncomfortable at Brittany talking about you to you. It's weird.

A few minutes pass without either of you saying anything. You're just weirdly staring at her, taking in everything you can. Maybe because you almost lost her, maybe because she's just that amazing. She smiles at you again, and you feel so very honored to be able to see that smile, to know that it's aimed at you.

You hear a beeping, and look around, confused for a second. Then you remember where it comes from.

"I have to go, Britt" You tell her, sounding apologetic. She pouts, and you almost can't control the urge to lean forward and capture her lips in yours. She's going to be the death of you.

Or, you know, a gigantic half-lizard-half-man creature.

"Come tomorrow?" She asks, and you're pretty sure you've got a shit-eating grin plastered to your face right now.

"Sure" You say.

She smiles, and it only grows when you bring her hand to your lips and kiss each one of her knuckles softly.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Who the fuck are you?" You almost scream at the man standing in front of, with his hands tied to his sides and wearing only barely-there jeans.

"The blood church is coming for you, insolent child" He says simply, seeming to be in some sort of weird trance. You stare unbelievingly at him until you feel a hand pulling you by your shirt.

"Keep your distance" Says Fevera, while walking back to a huge portable laptop. You follow her.

"What am I even doing here?" You ask to no one in particular.

"You're essential, Shadow" She tells you.

"Why me?" You ask for the hundredth time. She sighs deeply.

Fevera motions for you to follow her, and you do. You go up the basement stairs and enter a room.

"You have been tracked" She says.

"I am AWARE" You say in exasperation "But why the fuck do I have to deal with this freak show?"

"Because you brought them here, not me. We have been looking for the Blood Church for months and now they just show up in your town. Isn't that a bit weird?" She asks, condescending.

" I don't CARE!" You scream "I just want my life back".

"You call it a life?" She asks simply, walking out of the room.

You stand there for a good five minutes before slowly going back to the basement.

"What now?" You ask.

"I'm going to try and reverse the process, take him out of this hypnosis. You can go home, if you'd like" She shrugs you off nonchalantly.

"How's that even possible?" You ask.

"Sciency stuff's not really my thing, so I don't know. A mate is coming to help out" She says.

You plan your next question carefully.

"When you say we… Who's we?"

She turns around, and even though you can only see her mouth behind the orange mask, you know she was waiting for the question.

"You know I don't work alone, Shadow" She states.

"And who do you work with, then?" You ask, stepping closer to her. You can hear the man who was once a huge reptile breathing, but he hasn't said anything since you asked him.

"With Xhaá's children" He spits from behind you, voice throaty and raw.

Fevera laughs.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You tried to at least look slightly good to see Brittany today. You honestly don't know why. You shouldn't even go see her. You should just leave her alone, pretend you don't care about her. But you don't think you could do that. It'd tear you apart.

You don't quite understand how you feel about her. You do believe you're falling for her, but it has happened so fast you can't quite accept it. Okay, you've had a crush on her for a year, but you just started to get to know each other.

She's just that beautiful of a person, you guess.

"San!" She exclaims as you slowly open the door. She looks a bit better today, you think.

"Hey there" You say, walking slowly towards her and leaning down, hesitating before kissing her forehead tenderly.

Your lips burn while pressing against her skin, and you can feel her body relaxing underneath you. You don't want to believe you have that power over her.

Suddenly, her hands are touching your hips, and you inhale a sharp breath when she pulls you over her. She giggles at your surprise, and you do, too.

"I miss cuddling with you" She says, pouting.

"We've only done that like, once, Britt" You tell her, chuckling.

She simply wraps her arms around you, letting your head fall to her chest. You drape your leg over hers and sigh.

"Is everything okay, San?" She asks.

"Yeah" You lie. Maybe it isn't a lie. You are, after all, lying next to her.

She hums in response, slowly running her fingers through your hair.

"Does it hurt?" You ask suddenly, retreating from your position abruptly.

"Nah" She chuckles "It's over here" She says, pointing to the left side of her lower abdomen.

"M'kay" You mumble, laying back down.

Silence wraps itself around you bodies, the only sound being the beeping of Brittany's heart. You feel calm, knowing it's there. Beating.

You start to feel guilty for not coming sooner. Maybe she wanted you here. She's gone through a lot, it's always good to have a … friend(?) with you.

"Is it okay for me to ask you how was it?" You ask her.

"Getting shot?" She asks.

"Yeah" You mumble.

"I don't know. I don't really want to talk about it. Is that okay?" She asks, and you feel fuzzy.

"Of course Britt-Britt" You say, and you hug her tighter, being careful not to touch the wound that's hidden underneath the blankets.

"It hurt" She says simply. And you can't help it. The tear just slowly rolls down your cheek, wetting Brittany's shoulder "Don't cry" She says, almost whining.

A sob breaks out from your very core.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

About 5 minutes later, your sobs have died down but Brittany's still whispering soothing words like "I'm okay" and "we're just fine" in your ear.

When you stop crying all together, she stops.

"I just… I don't like it. Seeing you hurt" You explain.

"It's okay" She repeats.

You basically just told her you had something to do with her getting shot. She doesn't say anything about your crying fit.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It's been a long while and you two haven't said anything. Your relationship with her has a lot of that, just sitting next to each other without actually doing anything.

"We're weird" You tell her, moving your jaw against her chest.

"I like it" She replies.

You hum in response.


End file.
